


Perfection & Excellence

by splendidandfleetingasabubble



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, RIP, also the rating may get bumped up to M ;), but maybe not for... that... double RIP, i hope to write more chapters soon but it will probs be a while
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 07:09:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7835023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/splendidandfleetingasabubble/pseuds/splendidandfleetingasabubble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one person Subaki is trying to impress also happens to be the one person that can see right through him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfection & Excellence

**Author's Note:**

> AAA This has been sitting in my drafts for a while, but after seeing a plethora of gorgeous HanBaki art on tumblr user ricetiki's blog, I was inspired to finally edit and post this. Enjoy! <3

"Afternoon, Hana!" Subaki called out as led his pegasus Akinotsuki past the training fields.

Hana glanced away from the straw dummy she was practicing with and smiled. "Good afternoon, Subaki! Did you just finish your patrol?" She sheathed her bokken and began walking towards him.

"I did. Nothing interesting to report, but that's a good thing."

"Well... it's dangerous to scout alone. It makes me worry about you."

"Worry? About me?" Subaki flashed a brilliant smile. "I am a perfectly capable fighter."

Hana snorted. "Except when you fell off yo-"

"No, no no no no. We're not talking about this again."

"Okay, but in all seriousness," Hana sighed, "if there was band of archers hiding in the woods... They could easily pluck you out of the skies. And Princess Corrin insists that we patrol in groups for safety's sake. Maybe... Maybe I should come with you."

Subaki let out a practiced laugh that probably grated her nerves. "Are you saying you'd spend the whole day running after me and Akinotsuki?"

"No, I mean, I could ride on your pegasus with you! If something happened and you got injured, I could protect you and help you get back to camp safely!"

Subaki's eyes grew wide. "Ride? On the Pegasus wi- with me? But there's-"

Hana glowered. "I get it, you don't have to be mean about it. You don't think I could ride well. Fine. I need to get back to training anyway."

"No, Hana, I meant-"

"Good day, Subaki." Hana stalked off, throwing a glare over her shoulder before drawing her bokken and dealing several forceful blows to the practice dummy. Subaki grimaced. Her suggestion had caught him off guard; it was a situation he hadn't prepared for, which was humiliating in itself. But she was the only woman who could faze him, and the idea of riding together on Akinotsuki... He'd have to double his beauty regimen for at least three days in advance.

As he continued walking his pegasus to the stables, he thought more about his relationship with his fellow retainer. He had always gone back and forth in acknowledging his feelings for Hana, and it didn't help that she mentioned the "incident" every time she could. The "incident"... When he first saw her as he was descending from the sky to greet the Hoshidan princess and his potential new liege at the steps of Castle Shirasagi, he was surprised to see that the infamous female samurai he had heard about was far from the imposing and cold warrior he had imagined. She had bouncy waves of light ash brown hair that cascaded down her shoulders, past her heart-shaped face that featured her deep, focused eyes. He was so lost in gazing at her that he failed to change his posture when his pegasus slowed its descent, and he flew off the saddle when it landed, rolling on the ground before finally coming to a stop in a crumpled heap in front of the two girls.

To make such an embarrassing mistake in front of Princess Sakura... and in front of Hana... His reputation as a perfectionist was shattered before he even had the chance to build it up. His family certainly gave him an earful that night, telling him that he had brought great shame on their house for generations to come.

But with the way Hana always brought it up, Subaki continually felt belittled, and their constant bickering often made him question if it was even worth pursuing her. Yet although much time had passed since the day they first met, every time he looked at her, he felt the same tug at his heart that had caused him to fall off of his pegasus. He knew his feelings would never go away on their own.

His idea had been to show Hana that despite her first impression of him, he was indeed perfect like his predecessors that had served the Hoshidan royal family with flawless records, but something always seemed to go awry, and he would unintentionally insult Hana in the process. But her wish to accompany on a patrol, that she would even consider being so close to him, to have that level of trust in him... He would be lying if he said it didn't give him a flutter of hope.

He looked up to see he was standing in front of the stables. “Hmm, how time flies when the mind is occupied," he murmured aloud. Akinotsuki nudged him playfully, and Subaki patted her neck in return. “I'll groom you, don't worry. But you know there's something I have to do first." She whinnied in protest, but trotted into her pen.

\------------------------------------

_Left, right, left, right, downward_... Subaki watched Hana train from a distance. He found her mastery of the sword entrancing. Long ago, he had tried to convince himself that he only watched her to memorize her tactics in case she challenged his proficiency with the sword (which, according to his perfect planning, was inevitable), but lately, it was becoming harder and harder to deceive himself. Watching Hana train was like watching a dancer. Each move was so precise, so deliberate, it was an form of art in and of itself. Her hair swung around her face, the occasional strand sticking to her face with sweat, and her robes fluttered in the air behind her like an encore for each graceful swing of the bokken.

He shook himself when he realized he was lost in daydreaming and no longer focusing on her specific moves. The sun was much closer to the horizon than he thought; Akinotsuki would be hungry by now, and she still needed to be groomed before evening. Subaki stood up, brushed the grass off of his clothes, and wandered back to the stables... but not before casting one more forlorn glance at Hana.

**Author's Note:**

> A FEW THINGS:  
> 1\. Akinotsuki roughly translates to "autumn moon"  
> 2\. Bokken is the name of the wooden sword that samurai would practice with
> 
> I really, really, really hope to write more chapters for this in the future. I have concocted an incredibly elaborate plot concerning this relationship (and their world in general, tbh). A bunch of characters and other ships may pop up in the future if I continue writing this. And... the storyline will probably deviate from FeIF's canonical ending (endings?) quite a bit... so be ready to buckle up for the angst. Also, I have another fic on hiatus right now, but... RIP. Fic writers, you know how it goes.
> 
> Hmu on tumblr @nexu101!


End file.
